Hydraulic hammers are generally used on worksites to demolish and break up hard objects, including rocks, concrete, asphalt, and frozen ground. The hammers may be mounted to machines, such as excavators and backhoes, for example. The hammers may alternatively be powered by pneumatic pressure sources, as opposed to only hydraulic sources. In either event, a high-pressure fluid may be utilized within the hammer to cyclically drive a piston to strike a work tool, which in turn may repetitively strike the object of demolition for breaking that object into smaller pieces, generally for easier removal from a worksite.
To the extent that hydraulic hammers are routinely subjected to harsh conditions, various parts of the hammers may have relatively short life cycles. Constant efforts have been made to increase life cycles of hammer parts, more typically including improvements in metallurgy and lubrication. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,761 discloses a lubrication system that offers a limit switch to manage lubricant levels in a reservoir. The system also includes a horn along with a warning lamp to alert an operator of a low lubricant condition. A control valve is adapted to interrupt operation of the hammer whenever lubricant level falls below a predetermined amount.
It may be beneficial to provide a hydraulic hammer that better accommodates cyclic stress loads, as particularly applied to parts employed in the hammer, and particularly in the front head thereof, so as to cushion and/or reduce impact loads without need for changes in part sizes and/or the metallurgy of parts.